For John Brady, a trip to the 2006 Men’s Final Four – the first for an LSU basketball team since 1986 – validated his unwavering belief that defense wins championships. It also resulted in him being selected as the Outstanding College Coach in the State of Louisiana by the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Sports Awards Committee.
Not a great deal was expected of LSU coming off a 20-10 season in 2004-05 – which included a 12-4 SEC record, a Western Division title and a one-game trip to the NCAA Tournament. Despite the formidable inside presence of shot-blocking phenom Tyrus Thomas, the rebounding and interior scoring of Glen “Big Baby” Davis and the steady ball-handling and perimeter shooting of senior point guard Darrel Mitchell, the 2005-06 Tigers were unranked in preseason polls.
After a one-point loss at Connecticut on Jan. 7, 2005, dropped the Tigers’ record to 8-5, those lukewarm preseason predictions seemed right on target. But the Tigers caught fire from there, going 19-3 in the next 22 games to advance to the Final Four.
LSU went 14-2 in SEC play in 2005-06 – capturing the West for the second straight season – and concluded the season with 17 consecutive SEC home victories, the longest streak in the 35-year history of the Maravich Assembly Center. Brady was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second time.
With a healthy Thomas swatting away shots, with SEC player of the year Davis handling the dirty work in the paint and on the boards, and with Mitchell hitting relief jumpers seemingly on demand, LSU roared into the NCAA Tournament and probably should have received higher than a No. 4 seeding. No matter. The Tigers dispatched Iona, 80-64, and Texas A&M, 58-57, in the first two rounds and then upset the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Duke, 62-54, in the regional semifinals.
Then Brady’s bunch made it to the Final Four in Indianapolis by beating nationally ranked and second-seeded Texas, 70-60, in overtime in the regional finals.
LSU’s 59-45 loss to UCLA in the national semifinals – a case of the Bruins’ trapping, low-post defense making life miserable for Thomas and Davis inside – was disappointing, but it didn’t tarnish a 27-9 season. LSU shot only 32 percent for the game and didn’t make a three-pointer. Brady came away raving about the Bruins’ defense.
“One key tonight – and we didn’t see this as well on tape – was their physicalness,” Brady said.
The 27 victories were the second-most for Brady in his nine seasons at LSU. His 1999-2000 team finished 28-6 and made it to the Sweet 16.
The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month.
-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-
